The Baptism of Jesus and the Lamb of God
Read: Matthew 3:13-17
Last week we celebrated the Epiphany - the manifestation of Jesus as the Savior of the world. That God was now opening the doors to gentiles (all non-Jews) is almost poetically captured by yet another rejection of God’s offer to help (Herod's attempt to murder Jesus) as contrasted with the praise and worship of the infant Jesus by the foreign (gentile) Magi.
Today’s reading of Jesus’ baptism is actually the Epiphany in the Eastern Orthodox Church – when God publicly announced who Jesus was: "This is my beloved son of whom I am well pleased." The Church honors both Epiphany celebrations.
Location, location, location. John’s baptism of Jesus takes place at the Jordan River right where Joshua entered the Promised Land with the Hebrew nation that Moses led out of Egypt some 1300 years earlier. When you consider that the Jews expected the Messiah to usher in a new era, a new Jerusalem, a new Exodus, this suddenly makes sense. Jesus was indeed not only the new Exodus but his Last Supper will be the new Passover and the New Covenant that replaces the Mosaic Covenant. Whereas the Hebrews were freed from physical slavery under the Egyptians, Jesus the Messiah/Christ came to free man from their slavery to their own sins, which was keeping them separated from God.
The Baptism of Jesus is also one of the few times in Scripture when all three persons of the Blessed Trinity are present. Jesus is standing in the River Jordan, God makes the announcement, and the Holy Spirit comes down as a dove upon Jesus. This dove harkens back to the dove of Noah, implying a new creation is underway.
What’s just as astonishing is the reason Jesus was getting baptized. Like us, John is shocked that Jesus asks to be baptized. Jesus tells him to let it happen so that he may fulfill all righteousness. Say what?
Especially in biblical times, righteous behavior was helpful for offsetting bad behavior (sin). “To fulfill all righteousness” means Jesus intends to offset (pay for) all human sin. The water of John’s baptism symbolized the washing off the people’s sins. Jesus wasn’t going into the water to wash off his sins (he didn’t have any), but to take on everyone else’s sins and, in a sense, leave the water clean. This Baptism was marking the beginning of the task that he had come for, and it was important enough that the whole Trinity attended.
Once Jesus completed his mission (after the cross), baptism would no longer be just a symbolic washing, but the Holy Spirit entering us. This is only made possible by the ongoing removal of our debts (sins).
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Just prior to the baptism, in John 1:29: “The next day he (John) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” What lamb is he talking about?
We will review the key references to this at our next meeting: Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac, the Passover lamb of the Exodus, and, afterwards, the lambs being sacrificed at the Temple in Jerusalem every morning and afternoon, every day, as an offering to God for the sins of the people. Jesus will replace all of these.
Finally, we discussed Jesus in more depth as God’s manifestation/incarnation at the beginning of time (John 1:1-3), as a human being (John 1:14), and finally as the bread and wine at the Last Supper (Mt 26:26-28).
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